News & Cruise Reviews

Here we share the latest small-ship cruise news and first-person cruise reviews and round-ups from our team of globetrotting writers. If you've got a penchant for small-scale travel aboard boats, yachts, tall ships and mini cruisers, then enjoy the ride through our sea of stories about small-ship cruising.

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About Us


Heidi and Ted HEIDI SARNA

I'm up to 78 countries and 110+ cruises worldwide, and it's the small ship journeys that I love writing about most. And so QuirkyCruise.com was born, an excellent research tool for planning your own unforgettable small ship trip.

THEODORE W. SCULL

I have traveled between all continents by sea and cruised along three dozen rivers. Ships and travel are in my blood, and so is writing. My journeys have translated into many books and many hundreds of articles.

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Our Small Ship Cruise Reviews & Articles

If you can imagine it, we’ve cruised it! With reviews, articles and destination overviews, we’ve got you covered.

A Look Inside the Lavish New Scenic Eclipse

A Look Inside the Lavish New Scenic Eclipse

The New Scenic Eclipse By Anne Kalosh. Expedition cruising is getting glamorous. While the adventures outside may still be rugged, once travelers are back on board they'll have every creature comfort on a growing number of vessels. Take a look at Scenic's newly...

QuirkyCruise News: Ponant Buys Paul Gauguin Cruises

QuirkyCruise News: Ponant Buys Paul Gauguin Cruises

Ponant Buys Paul Gauguin Cruises By Anne Kalosh. French cruise line Ponant is acquiring Paul Gauguin Cruises, a one-ship brand that sails mainly in French Polynesia. The 332-passenger Paul Gauguin is a favorite of couples and honeymooners. Its trademark itineraries...

Arctic Cruise Aboard the Brand-New Expedition Ship Hondius

Arctic Cruise Aboard the Brand-New Expedition Ship Hondius

Arctic Cruise. By William J. Mayes, Editor of Sea Lines, The Ocean Liner Society (UK). Oceanwide Expeditions, a company that has been providing expedition cruises on its own converted ships or on chartered ships for 25 years, finally got its first new ship in May...

Reader Review: NAT GEO VENTURE in Alaska (Lindblad Expeditions)

Reader Review: NAT GEO VENTURE in Alaska (Lindblad Expeditions)

NAT GEO VENTURE in Alaska. REVIEWER Laura Virkler  from the USA. CRUISE LINE Lindblad Expeditions. SHIP National Geographic Venture. DESTINATION Southeast Alaska. # OF NIGHTS 7. DEPARTURE DATE & PORTS July 2019, from Sitka, Alaska. OVERALL RATING 5 out of 5 stars...

Danube River Cruise on AmaWaterways’ new AmaMagna

Danube River Cruise on AmaWaterways’ new AmaMagna

Danube River Cruise on the New AmaMagna. By Gene Sloan. Like other passengers who have traveled before on European river ships, I am stunned when I first walk onto AmaMagna. The lobby of the new AmaWaterways vessel on the Danube seems to go on forever, and it’s not...

Reader Review: Scenic Spirit on the Mekong (SCENIC)

Reader Review: Scenic Spirit on the Mekong (SCENIC)

Reader Review: Scenic Spirit. REVIEWER Walt Bruyns/Jan Hayes from Canada. CRUISE LINE Scenic. SHIP Scenic Spirit. DESTINATION Cambodia/Vietnam. # OF NIGHTS 7. DEPARTURE DATE & PORTS October 2018, from Siem Reap, Cambodia. OVERALL RATING 5 out of 5 stars...

Mekong River Cruise: 15 Reasons to Choose Scenic

Mekong River Cruise: 15 Reasons to Choose Scenic

Mekong River Cruise with Scenic. By Heidi Sarna. My first Mekong River cruise a decade ago was with Pandaw, a pioneer of Southeast Asia river cruising and one of my favorite small-ship cruise lines. They offer a casual old-world experience aboard...

12 Budgeting Tips for Planning a Small Ship Cruise

12 Budgeting Tips for Planning a Small Ship Cruise

Tips for Planning a Small Ship Cruise by Ted Scull & Heidi Sarna. A small-ship cruise, like any cruise, includes a lot of the basics in the fare — your cabin, meals and often guides/lecturers — but not everything. Because small-ship cruises are interesting and...

MURRAY River Cruises

MURRAY River Cruises

Murray River Cruises Updated Oct 15, 2024 Virtually unknown outside of Australia and New Zealand, the Murray River, navigable for hundreds of miles, threads through the Outback between New South Wales and Victoria and enters South Australia to then empty into a vast...

CORAL Expeditions

CORAL Expeditions

Coral Expeditions Review Coral Expeditions, based in Cairns, Queensland, Australia, got its start in 1984 as Coral Princess Cruises by refitting a WWII submarine chaser into a small passenger-carrying ship for Great Barrier Reef cruises. With this initial success,...

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